Media Coverage

Quest Diagnostics: Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $1.36 misses by $0.01; GAAP EPS of $0.92 misses by $0.27.

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Houston Healthcare are teaming up to enhance the quality and value of diagnostic services to patients and their doctors through a new partnership agreement under which Quest will provide full laboratory management services for Houston Medical Center and Perry Hospital.

Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics announced Monday it has completed its previously announced acquisition of the clinical laboratory services business of Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories. BBPL, based in Columbia, Missouri, is a provider of diagnostic and clinical laboratory services in the Midwest. Through a separate agreement, BBPL has been named the exclusive pathology provider for Quest Diagnostic clients in Missouri.

IBM Watson Health today announced an expansion to its partnership with the Broad Institute, providing artificial intelligence to help clinicians mine genomic data to predict patient risk for cardiovascular disease. IBM Watson and the Broad already are a little more than two years into a five-year, $50 million research initiative that seeks to discover the basis for drug resistance in cancers. The Broad is a partner in IBM Watson Genomics from Quest Diagnostics, a service that is available to oncologists nationwide that focuses on oncology diagnostics and providing options for evidence-based methods of treating cancer.

The stigma around marijuana use, both medical and recreational, is slowly dwindling as states throughout the country work towards marijuana legalization. 33 states have officially declared medical marijuana use legal and 10 states have legalized recreational use of the drug. However, a question lingers nationwide regarding views of marijuana in the workplace. All companies hold the right to drug test their employees; however, some industries feel that it’s necessary to test for marijuana regularly while others don’t. On the flip side, there is a large number of companies that don’t drug test as heavily — and that number is growing. With drug tests costing companies around $30 to $50 per employee, many see it as a wasted expense. Quest Diagnostics said that failed drug tests reached an all-time high in 2017 and this is likely to increase as legalization becomes more widespread. Drug testing restricts the job pool, meaning companies aren’t able to find the best candidates for open positions.